Genius Blacksmith’s Game - Chapter 304

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Blacksmith’s Game
The Great Atlas Battle (Part 3) (5)
Kali posed a question to himself.
‘How did it come to this?’
By any measure, this was a battle with a 99.9% win rate.
After wrapping it up cleanly, the elite players joked about growing closer and forming a large guild together.
And as he watched Hyeon-su, who had crossed mountain after mountain to finally reach this place, he found his answer.
It stemmed from what everyone could see.
Hyeon and Hyeon’s Forge had advanced on the arrogance and certainty that the Coalition Forces would obviously win.
‘We just need to push forward.’
Unlike their plan, they must have run hundreds, thousands of simulations and devised strategies.
‘What if we lose?’
They hadn’t even entertained such a thought, but they were different.
‘They knew that if they lost, everything would crumble.’
Amidst all these questions and answers.
“Let’s end this now.”
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
[Overwhelming Pressure]
A colossal abnormal status bears down upon Kali.
Only then did he truly understand.
‘All the questions and answers were meaningless.’
Kali’s thoughts shift.
His wavering eyes meet Hyeon-su’s still-gleaming gaze, and he comprehends.
The real answer that no amount of questions and hundreds of responses could provide.
‘He possesses the makings of a true king.’
Chills run down his spine.
Experts predict Ares’s first king will emerge no sooner than a year and a half from now.
The emergence of someone to establish a Great Territory is six months away.
He who ignored all of that and faced three thousand ranked Users alone.
Kali’s entire body tenses.
‘If even I fall….’
They would grant him tremendous power.
The one who achieved victory against three thousand Coalition Forces!
The one who created a miracle!
The one who established the first Great Territory!
Conversely, as much praise as he receives, Kali will be ridiculed.
[Hyeon-su’s HP has dropped below 34%.]
This is Hyeon-su’s current status as he turns his Sword toward me.
[HP has dropped below 36%.]
This is my current status.
[White Tiger Aura]
[All attack power increases twofold for 30 seconds.]
[Movement speed and attack speed increase by 20%.]
A white haze began to shimmer across Kali’s variegated White Tiger form.
Kali believed he could still turn this around.
‘If I can just win the Great Atlas battle!’
Crisis, yes—but victory gleamed within reach.
With the White Tiger Aura activated, Kali had no doubt he now stood as Bahala’s equal.
The world didn’t know it, but Kali had faced Bahala before.
Every encounter had ended in complete defeat.
But that was before he possessed the White Tiger Aura.
Even in his beast-transformed state, Kali had defeated Legendary Grade monsters in one-on-one combat.
‘And my opponent isn’t even a blacksmith!’
All the rumors surrounding Hyeon were merely gossip and exaggeration.
Kwaaaang—!
Kali’s form exploded forward from the ground, moving so fast the camera could barely track him as a blur of light.
In that same instant, Hyeon-su prepared his final move.
Until now, Hyeon-su had commanded from the rear, conserving his strength.
True, he’d expended considerable reserves shattering the frozen enemies, but he had anticipated Kali’s assault.
He possessed a counter.
Whoooosh—!
A small flame kindled across Hyeon-su’s body.
[All stats increase by 20%.]
[All skill levels increase by 2.]
[HP decreases while the flame is active.]
[The small flame engulfs the world.]
He transforms from flame into a fire demon.
Watching Kali’s rapid charge, I steady my breathing.
“Haaaa….”
In this moment, I sink into absolute concentration.
I recall Kabel’s movements from our encounter, mirror Bahala’s swordplay from our battles, and move as the Sword King who taught me.
[You enter a state of No-Self (無我地境).]
It feels as though only I and Kali exist in this space.
Kali falters, confusion crossing his face as he approaches.
‘…Why do I see…’
A question he cannot comprehend forms in his mind.
‘Bahala in you?’
Has he ever met Bahala?
And how does he possess a skill that mimics him?
Yes, it’s possible.
Claaaaaang—!
As I collide with him, Kali fights against me as I flow like water, and he grows flustered.
‘No, this is…!’
He can’t believe it.
Watching my Continental War footage, Fenrir’s battle during the fall of Goyad, he’d thought I was merely a ranker.
But I was far beyond that.
It wasn’t skill alone.
‘I was thinking and moving, then thinking again.’
My ability—now it was extraordinary, threatening even to him.
Yet ultimately, it was a Blacksmith’s attack power.
No matter how powerful the Twin Dragon Sword was, there were limits to stat allocation….
Claaaaaang—!
As Kali is sent flying from the collision, a hollow smile spreads across his face.
Absurd damage output.
A sound nearly escaped his lips, and his body’s balance nearly crumbled in an instant.
He realizes it.
Not only does an unshakeable army stand behind him, but he himself possesses the qualifications for it.
Yet Kali is also ranked second in the world.
He possessed the power to shatter those qualifications.
“I’ve watched your footage dozens of times over, analyzing and studying it.”
As Kali quickly regains his balance, tremendous power surges through both his arms.
[White Tiger’s Strength]
I see my arms rising.
Kali knew I was trying to control it through telekinesis.
[White Tiger’s Strength ignores telekinesis.]
[While White Tiger’s Strength is active, it inflicts 3x damage on targets that manifest skills.]
White Tiger’s Strength is a trap-like technique.
If I activate any skill to block it, it neutralizes that skill and allows him to deal 3x damage.
[100% guaranteed hit.]
The backlash from using a skill transforms it into an effect with 100% accuracy.
Kwaaaaaang—
The moment the White Tiger’s massive front paw comes crashing down on me, the earth around us carves deeply.
Crrrrrr—
[2,600% power is unleashed!]
[HP drops below 3%.]
Watching me stagger while bleeding from my head, Kali was certain of victory.
Merely 3% HP.
In contrast, his own HP still remained in the 30% range.
Yet I receive the words Kali had spoken.
“…I wasn’t the only one analyzing.”
“…?”
Kali thought Hyeon-su was being arrogant.
But it was already being inscribed into Hyeon-su’s Twin Dragon Sword, still lost in that transcendent state.
[Linkage]
[The Twin Dragon Sword maximizes the power dwelling within its wielder, and the speed of those connected forces accelerates more than twofold.]
Hyeon-su had shed his old constraints.
Before, using Linkage, he had always been confined within the same framework.
Now he breaks free from that mold.
Linkage—a power that maximizes the dwelling force and doubles the speed of its succession.
At an absurd velocity, Hyeon-su was already drawing the bowstring.
The first linkage.
[The most powerful single shot.]
Kwaaaaaaang—!
“Kuhaaaaaack!”
Kali, struck directly, was sent flying.
‘Wasn’t the original Linkage supposed to connect gathering and Sword Strike in One?’
Hyeon-su ignored that.
Only 3% HP remaining.
Kali’s HP plummeted to the 20% range from this single blow.
Simultaneously.
“Draw.”
Zzzzzzzzack—
Kali, pulled with all his might, locked eyes with Hyeon-su.
And the ensuing third linkage was not an attack.
On the left, a buff-type Twin Dragon Sword forged in reverse; on the right, an attack-type Twin Dragon Sword.
The two Twin Dragon Swords converged, momentarily weaving a transcendent power even stronger than transcendence itself.
[The most perfect combination.]
The third linkage concluded.
Immediately, Hyeon-su soared skyward while simultaneously activating ‘Master Craftsman’s Majesty.’
Cold sweat streamed down Kali’s oppressed back.
Kugugugugu—
Hyeon-su, soaring into the heavens.
His brown coat fluttering, visible to all beneath the sky.
To any observer, Kali was the superior, the genius with overwhelming skill.
Yet a dull mind who had observed and analyzed hundreds of times while a genius repeated the same thing dozens of times—that was the power being forged now.
Kuhooooo—
The combined Twin Dragon Sword’s rampaging power in the heavens was witnessed by ten thousand eyes.
Among those ten thousand.
Bahala.
“…Can he really win this?”
Watching through the screen, Bahala couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Hyeon-su’s ability was far different from what he’d known before.
And his vision grew dizzy.
The reason.
He finally understood it.
‘Behind the goal of becoming king lies another goal.’
It must be defeating him.
His objective was only just beginning.
Another person.
“….”
Lee Se-jin, the representative, was one of them.
He knew Atlas was far superior to what people thought.
But if he had to wager his entire fortune between Atlas versus the Coalition Forces, he wouldn’t hesitate to bet on the Coalition.
“…The rewards User Hyeon-su would obtain if he truly won are almost impossible to fathom.”
What kind of rewards he would gain.
Even he couldn’t predict it.
Atlas was far too disadvantaged, and the rewards upon victory were beyond even his comprehension.
Others as well.
Countless viewers watched the king of the New World rising above them.
‘Is this really happening?’
‘Really, he’s beating Kali too?’
‘At 3% HP?’
‘That’s insane….’
‘That guy is absolutely incredible!!’
Among the masses.
The final combination detonates.
“Sword Rampage.”
The moment he unleashes it, Hyeon-su, trapped in a state of transcendence, snaps free with a sharp crack.
“Hrrrraaahhh!”
Gripping the sword with both hands, he drives the blade down into Kali.
[Kali’s HP falls below 12%…]
[Kali’s HP falls below 7%…]
He encounters yet another variable.
[White Tiger is an unyielding beast.]
[White Tiger’s momentum activates.]
[Those struck directly by the force erupting from White Tiger suffer continuous damage.]
[The defense of the one who unleashed White Tiger’s momentum increases threefold.]
Kabooooom—!
A tremendous force surges from the dying Kali, engulfing Hyeon-su.
Simply being struck directly by that force caused Hyeon-su to begin taking damage.
For a moment, Hyeon-su nearly dropped the Twin Dragon Sword he was gripping.
[Your HP has fallen below 2%.]
But I endure it.
Even if I shatter.
Kwaaaaagh—
I grip the Twin Dragon Sword with all my strength and continue driving the blade downward relentlessly.
Kali’s defense tripled, yet it crumbles.
2%.
1%.
Shhhhh—
The moment the sword’s rampage ends, it echoes.
[Your HP reaches 0%.]
The same applies to Kali. Both begin to scatter simultaneously.
Watching Hyeon-su scatter before him, Kali spoke.
“Perhaps I lost after all.”
The outcome remains uncertain.
“I sensed it—that you meant to declare you would walk the path of a king.”
“….”
Hyeon-su regarded him with an expressionless gaze, and Kali spoke the reality point by point.
“…Who would follow someone commanding merely twenty thousand troops?”
Kali’s words held merit.
He wished to mock, certainly, but he also spoke truth.
“NPCs do not follow Users. Your kingdom must be built primarily upon Users. The problem is you lack the resources and military might of NPC kings, and the Quests and rewards you can offer are limited.”
Kali posed a question.
“Why would they follow you? Why should they become your allies? You are still too early. The moment you proclaim yourself king, you will fail to embrace as many as you expect, and instead become a target for far more. That’s right.”
Kali nodded slowly, driving his point home.
“You lack the qualifications to be king.”
Hyeon-su merely gazed at Kali.
[The Great Atlas Battle concludes.]
As Kali turned to ash faster, it became clear who had won.
[Atlas’s Lord Hyeon-su remained until the very end, granting Atlas victory.]
Kali laughed.
He believed he had achieved spiritual victory.
But Hyeon-su, turning his body without disappearing to ascend the throne, spoke.
“You’re mistaken about something.”
Mistaken?
As Hyeon-su tilted his head slightly, Kali witnessed an arrogance in his expression unlike anything he had ever seen from any User.
Behind that faint smile, he gazed down at his own hand.
“I’ve held a hammer since I was five years old.”
“…!?”
Kali’s eyes waver at those words.
Is this a statement meant to evade the pinch?
No—his sharp gaze fixes on Hyeon-su’s palms.
Calluses embedded deep within the skin.
Layer upon layer, stripped away and rebuilt, stripped away and rebuilt again—this man called Hyeon-su.
‘Twin Dragon Kendo….’
The Thousand-Pound Bow, the Lord’s Coat, everything he wore.
Crafting methods that did not exist on this land.
Not the power of profession, skill, or Artifact—but the highest power possessed by a human being.
A power that neither rusts nor shatters, neither breaks nor crumbles.
And because it transcends the very ‘concept’ of skill, it can teach and guide others.
Kali corrects himself.
Because he possesses the greatest weapon an ordinary human can wield, perhaps he does have the qualifications to be king.
Kali’s eyes take in Hyeon-su standing upon the throne.
A soft chuckle.
Witnessing that mocking laugh directed at himself, he understands.
[The Lord’s address will begin shortly.]
Today, Hyeon-su will reveal that he alone is the Master Craftsman.
Furthermore.
[Rewards are being measured.]
He will monopolize the finest things in the world.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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